Automatic and semi-automatic systems have been developed for interfacing with telephone lines to assist both called and calling parties in the exchange of information. One of the most basic systems is a "telephone answering machine", in which an automatic machine continuously monitors the incoming telephone line. When a ring signal is detected, the system causes the called party telephone to go "off-hook"; and a pre-recorded short message (the answer) usually is played from an endless tape to provide the calling party with a message. At the sound of a tone, the calling party is invited to leave a message, which then is recorded on another tape in the machine. The user of such an answering machine then may play back the messages which have accumulated over the period of time the machine has been operated. A variation of the telephone answering machine is now provided in a central system, controlled by the telephone company. The operation of the system, however, is similar to that of a dedicated telephone answering machine.
Another type of automated answering system currently is in relatively widespread use. This type of answering system is used to replace operators at large corporations and the like. The automated systems provide the calling party with an initial message, and typically then invite the calling party to depress selected ones of the push-buttons on a touch-tone telephone to direct the call to specific departments, or the like, where the telephone finally is answered by a person most likely to be able to communicate with the calling party in the area of interest. It is to be noted that these systems essentially operate under the direction of the calling party, who provides tones in response to the recorded prompt, for directing the call to the telephone which ultimately is to be answered in person. The messages or prompts, which are supplied to the calling party, are selected by the calling party (after the first message) and no optional message control is made by the called party.
Other systems have been designed to relieve telephone operators from the drudgery of repeatedly answering a telephone with the same message. The Winter et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,697,282, and Quiros et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,734,930, disclose a synthesized voice response to the initial call, following which the operator on duty (or any person) proceeds with a "live" interchange with the calling party. The pre-recorded or synthesized voice is the same voice as the operator; so that, theoretically at least, the calling party is not able to detect the difference between the pre-recorded message and the actual live response which subsequently follows.
The called station of Winter has a number of different pre-recorded responses, which are utilized in responding to incoming calls. The operator is on line the entire time, and actually effects the answering of the called party telephone. After the calling party initiates an interchange, the operator selects the desired message response, which is to be retrieved from memory, and plays it back to the calling party. When the calling party speaks again, the operator, who has been on line via a conventional telephone the entire time, proceeds to converse with the caller. The operator, however, is relieved of making the actual initial voice responses, because of the ability to select pre-recorded responses to the initial query from the calling party.
The system disclosed in the Quiros patent is similar to Winter in the overall technique which is employed. As with Winter, the system of Quiros has the operator on line monitoring the entire call. The initial response, however, is effected by a stored message. There is no operator-selectable response message, but only a single pre-recorded message for the initial response to the calling party. The operator then takes over, after this initial response has been made.
The systems of Winter and Quiros, described above, which include an operator on line during the time the pre-recorded messages are being played back over the line, are subject to the disadvantage of picking up extraneous background sounds from the microphone of the operator's telephone. Consequently, if the environment in which the operator or answering party is located is a noisy one, this noise is transmitted over the phone line, along with the desired message. For a home, or a business operated out of the home, where distracting background noise, such as the blaring of a television set, crying children, or the like, may exist, the pick up and transmission of background noise by the telephone microphone frequently is undesirable.
A system which simulates the function of a live operator, and which overcomes the disadvantages of the Winter and Quiros systems, is disclosed in the Ferrara U.S. Pat. No. 5,189,692. In the system of the Ferrara patent, a telephone operator simulator system interfaces with incoming calls on the telephone line. The system includes a voice and signal storage memory. A control device is connected to the storage memory and the telephone line, and operates to deliver selected response messages from the storage memory to the telephone line.
In the Ferrara system, the messages are selected manually by means of a key pad connected to the control device to cause the memory to supply the selected response message from the storage to the telephone line. The called party may monitor the calling party voice and the response messages. Additional response messages then are selected by the called party, as required in response to the replies from the calling party. Following the sequence of response messages and calling party replies, the called party then goes "off-hook" through a telephone receiver to engage in normal two-party conversation from that point out. The messages, which are stored and which are used in the initial answering of the called party telephone, comprised voice synthesized messages, as well as sound simulations such as background sounds, intercom ring backs, and the like; so that the impression which is given to the calling party is that of a business or location where a separate operator first handles the calls, and then either transfers the calls to the called party, or the sequence of pre-recorded response messages can be used to terminate the call. The result is that the system provides a professional image to the calling party, and the capability of screening incoming calls.
Even with the system of the Ferrara U.S. Pat. No. 5,189,692, however, a problem exists when the called party is not at the telephone location with which the system is associated. For example, if the business person or called party is on the road (leaving the office unattended), the system of Ferrara U.S. Pat. No. 5,189,692 does not function, since that system requires the physical presence of the called party to monitor the requests from the caller, and to react by pushing selection buttons on a key pad to generate the pre-recorded messages.
Consequently, even if a business person has a system of the type mentioned above in the Ferrara patent, when that business person is on the road, it is necessary to rely on less than optimal solutions. A return to the answering machine may be used. The image of a business which is projected by an answering machine, however, is not a good one. In addition, a large percentage of people do not leave messages on an answering machine or on a voice mail system. Another option is to use an answering service. Answering services, however, are typically hurried, expensive and impersonal; and most of them only take messages. Answering services that patch calls through to a remote location generally are quite expensive. A third option is to utilize "call forwarding". In this type of system, the call to the unattended office or unattended telephone line is diverted to a remote location, or to a cellular phone. The advantages of the system of the Ferrara U.S. Pat. No. 5,189,692 then are lost, since the called party is not at the physical location of that system to effect the pre-recorded responses.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a telephone operator simulation system, which has the advantages of the Ferrara patent mentioned above, and further, which can be controlled and operated from a remote location.